Grindelwald's Rising
by ishina elizabeth
Summary: A curious account of certain events occurring at Hogwarts' School of Magic in the year 1942.


_Disclaimer: Resemblance of any names used in this fic to those of real people I know are purposeful coincidence. If I liked your name, I stole it. I also stole bits of personalities—do not think that means the character equals you. He/she doesn't. Really. With the minor exception of Ian. Also, I do not own Harry Potter. Thank you._

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Gretchen watched the Sorting, bored. She played with the point on her black hat, listening as the new First Years were sorted into Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff. Her house had gained a total of one new student this year, a short, chubby boy with tiny, suspicious eyes.

Slytherin was very unpopular, of course, Grindelwald's rise over the last few years putting another black mark on the House's reputation. Gretchen narrowed her eyes at the Gryffindor table as Alexis cheered the Sorting Hat's last proclamation of 'GRYFFINDOR!'. Summer had been particularly bad this year. She'd had to put up with her older sister's ridiculous theories on Slytherins and Why Wizards Go Bad. It was complete rubbish, but none of her family had cared to listen to _her_ theories on the matter.

Dippet stood up from his place at the High Table and cleared his throat. "Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts, students!" he proclaimed. "A few reminders before we have our feast. The Forbidden Forest..."

Gretchen jumped as something crashed into her elbow. "Watch it!" she whispered angrily. Keaton smirked at her. "Grouchy, Barandy. What happened to ruin your usual angelic aspect?"

Gretchen scowled. "Stuff it, Mowery, I do _not_ want to talk about it."

"Be quiet, both of you," April hissed from their left. "Dumbledore's staring."

Gretchen glanced up at the High Table and discovered that the Transfiguration Professor was, indeed, staring at them. She winced and glanced over at the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor tables. Alexis was still listening to Dippet and Elizabeth looked zoned out. Good. She didn't need one of them writing home and telling their parents she was disrespecting the Headmaster. She could swear she had ear damage from the last Howler her mum had sent in reply. The war had everyone's nerves on edge.

The Hall suddenly filled with talking and Gretchen grabbed the nearest dish of food. Amanda looked over at Kent and smiled sweetly. "What did you do this summer, Kent?" she asked, deepening her voice. Gretchen figured she was trying to sound sultry. She wasn't succeeding. Kent looked up, a bit startled. "I, uh, I really didn't do anything interesting," he muttered.

"Really? Aww, you can't be serious," she purred, "I'm sure your life is full of interesting things."

Gretchen choked back a snicker as Keaton gagged on a pea. She threw him a napkin and wondered why Car still bothered pretending her constant ankle-brushing-against-Keaton's-calf games were accidental. (Car, Gretchen smirked mirthfully, was one of the funniest names she knew. It was short for Motorcar. Car's parents, to Car's great chagrin, had a rather misguided fascination with Muggle technology and named her that as some sort of tribute. Car hated the name passionately and kept trying to make people call her Kitty instead.)

"Alright, Car?"

The short Asian girl shrugged. "Okay. I came over to give you this. Ian was threatening to chop my head off for not getting it to you earlier. Anyway, I'd better get back, we were in the middle of a meeting." She tossed Gretchen a packet and hurried back over to the Ravenclaw table. Gretchen glanced over and smirked at the anger on Ian's face as he lectured two other girls. He saw her and immediately put on a pleasant smile, then rounded on Allison and began gesturing emphatically. Gretchen looked at the packet and tossed it onto the table, deciding to open it later.

"Keaton, is it true that Riddle and Braudry are prefects this year?" an older Slytherin asked.

"Yeah," Keaton replied glumly. "They'll probably put a stop to our cellar parties."

"That's what happens when you don't include females," Gretchen retorted.

"What, you'd have snog fests with them to keep the parties, if you were allowed in?" Keaton demanded. Gretchen rolled her eyes. "Of course not. Katie would, though."

All three of them looked at the end of the table where Katie sat, fluttering her eyelashes. "Yeaurgh," said Keaton.

"Seriously. I live with her." Gretchen grabbed her packet and stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"Hospital Wing. Anja was sick the whole train ride." She waved over at Elizabeth, her sister's name-sharing best friend, and left the Great Hall.

- - - - - -

The Gryffindor girl's dorms were quiet. Alexis and Juniper sat on Alexis's bed, talking.

"So, as I was saying, I really think we should have a society type thing and have meetings every week," Alexis continued, carefully brushing her waist-length red hair. Britt nodded thoughtfully. "That sounds good."

"We need to stay on top of things, with this war going on. We need to keep tabs on all the news talking about Grindelwald."

"We should pay attention to what the Ministry of Magic is doing, too."

"Of course. Our group needs to be secret—it would be bad if the wrong sort of people found out and spied on us. I've mostly figured out who should be in the group. You and me, of course, and I think Luc and Laurel and Heidi and Derek—" she smiled wistfully at the name "—are all good."

"What about your sister Gretchen?"

"Urgh, don't remind me. She's been a _pain_ all summer." Alexis flopped onto the bed emphatically.

"What about your other sister, then?"

"Wouldn't be interested. Alright! When's a good time for you?"

"Mondays after Herbology."

"Nope. I've got prefect duty."

"Friday nights?"

"Not good. I have prefect meetings."

"Sunday afternoons are alright, then."

"Oh no, Luke hates doing things on Sunday. We'll have them Saturday afternoons. Those are good for you, right?"

"They're okay."

"Great! Saturdays it is, then." Alexis grinned. "I'm going to go to bed. I've been so busy this summer I haven't been getting practically any sleep."

Juniper smiled. "Alright. I think I'm going to go down to the common room and see if Luc's still up."

"Alrighty. Goodnight!"

"Goodnight!"

- - - - - -

Gretchen groaned as her mirror began pestering her to get up. "I don't care if I have Potions in twenty minutes. Make the sun go away."

"Get UP, Barandy. If you don't start getting ready now your hair's going to be a nightmare. What will Tyler think?"

"I don't care what Tyler thinks and I doubt he cares what my hair looks like!" Gretchen opened one eye and glared at the iron-rimmed mirror. "What are you trying to say, anyway?"

"Nothing. I know you. You'll refuse to go to class if you don't look presentable, and Drastos will be very angry if you miss the first class of the year."

"What? I've gone places looking dreadful before. Let me go back to sleep."

"Ha! You have not, and you know it. Alexis would _outshine_ you if you did, and you can't take that."

Gretchen sat up. "That is _not_ true. I don't care if she looks better than me or not, with her ridiculous heaps of red hair. I do better in classes than she does—that's all that matters!"

"Oh?" the mirror shimmered. "You might have thought that before, but I know how aggravated you were when Keaton stared at her a few seconds too long last night."

"What!" Gretchen bounded out of bed. "You've been gossiping with the other mirrors again, haven't you? Oh, you stupid, miserable... and you aren't right about that, anyway!"

"Really? I dare you to go to class looking like _that_."

"Fine!" Gretchen yanked on her skirt, blouse, and robe and seized her potions' book. She stomped across the room, opened the door, and slammed it shut behind her. She couldn't stand that mirror. She'd gotten rid of it last semester by stuffing it in an old closet (an impressive feat, considering the mirror kept shouting "SOMEONE HELP ME!!!" as she dragged it across the school), but someone had obviously found it again. And now she was going to be late for Potions. She broke into a run, whirling down the few corridors separating the Slytherin Dormitories from the Potions' Classroom, and dove into her seat just before Professor Drastos arrived. Keaton looked over at her and broke out laughing. "What happened to your hair, Barandy?"

"Mirror's fault. I'd rather not talk about it." Gretchen opened her book of notes and took a long quill out of her bag. She felt the back of her hair. Brown tendrils were sticking out wildly from the rubber band that had held them in place yesterday and the rest of her hair was a huge, snarly knot. She sighed and looked up as Professor Drastos began the class.

"Obviously, as the years go on, this class will continue to grow harder. For some of you, this will be a welcome challenge." His eyes grazed Gretchen's and she couldn't resist smiling. She did like this class. "The rest of you, on the other hand," he eyed Keaton, "may easily find yourselves in danger of not passing. I expect you to pay complete attention and not make stupid mistakes this year. Considering recent events, I've decided we're going to begin with the Blood-Replenishing potion. Open your books to page 521."

Gretchen began scribbling down notes. The class passed by quickly and she soon found herself outside with the Ravenclaws for Care of Magical Creatures. Ian spotted her and immediately marched over. "Do you like the magazine?" he demanded.

Gretchen blinked. Magazine? What...oh! The packet he'd given her. Ian eyed her suspiciously. "You DID open the packet, didn't you?" he asked, voice growling intensely. Gretchen resisted the urge to quiver. "Of course. I looked at it last night."

"Good. So? What did you think?"

Gretchen searched her memory. She'd barely looked at the magazine after opening it. "It looks very...nice. Uhm. I like the cover picture."

Ian smiled proudly. "Yes. I had a bit of trouble with that, but I eventually managed to charm it so none of us were moving." Ian had cut two hours out of his schedule during exam week to set up the library and camera for the picture, only to discover that in the picture he kept grimacing and yelling at Gretchen and Car, arms flying everywhere. He'd nearly burst a blood vessel when he had seen it. "_And_ I got your article to fit on only two pages."

Gretchen grinned. "You used three for Car's."

Ian sighed. "Yes, well... next time, I'm going to give her a word limit. Anyway. The topic this month is Muggle Wars and Wizards. Write anything you want that ties to that. Now I must go tell Adelaide. Have a pleasant day."

Gretchen watched him walk away before joining the rest of the Slytherins around a group of cages. She looked at their contents worriedly. "Kent, what are those?"

"Flesh-Eating Slugs." The tall brunette replied. "Apparently some were getting into Professor Cephas's garden, so he brought them over." His eyes glinted as he grinned widely. "Aren't they great?"

Gretchen stared at them. Animals were not her strong point. She was fine if they stayed in cages, but loose—

"Hey everybody, the girl's bathroom is completely flooded! Come have a look!"

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Author's Note: Thus starts the story. You're all in for a long, fascinating, darkly historical ride. The effects the war has had on Hogwarts so far will be shown throughout the next few chapters. I realise the kids don't sound very weighed down by the war yet—they will, just wait. Remember, they are only kids and the Wizarding World is rather separate from the Muggle one.

If you would, please send interesting names (and their meanings, if you know them) my way. I'll be sure to put them to good use.

As always, review!

Cheers!

- ishina


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